Wool-scouring mechanism.



1%.- 718,232. PATENTBD JAN. 13, 1903'.

WHITNEY. WOOL SGOURING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY-21; 1902.

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KkwwY UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS L. WHITNEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

WOOL-SCOURING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,232, dated January13, 1903- Application filed May 21, 1902. Serial No. 108,429. (Nomodel.) 7

T allsvhom it may concern.-

Be it known that LFRANoIs L. WHITNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at 2029 Lagnna street, in the city and county of San Franciscoand State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Wool-scouring Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of said invention,such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it most nearlyappertains to make, use, and practice the same.

This invention relates to improvements in wool and fiber scouringmachinery, particularly to mechanicalpuddlers in this art.

The invention consists of a scouring-vat I adapted to contain thescouring solution and a mechanical puddler and discharger consistin g ofa series of fork-teeth successively traveling through the vat,carryingthefibers from the bottom up an inclineand delivering to a draper whichfeeds into the squeezing-rolls,

from which the fiber isfreceived'and scat tered into the succeeding vatby a rapidly-revolving distributing-wheel, delivering the fiber onto arevolving s'ubmerging wheel.

The object accomplished by this invention is to eliminate manualhandling from this process, with the resultant gain in time anduniformity of product.

The invention will be described in detail in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation, incross-section, of the various mechanisms of this invention on the line XX, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan from above of the invention "complete.

In the description with reference to the drawings similar letters ofreference designate similar parts throughout the several views.

The process of wool-scouring consists of passing the fiber through asuccession of baths of varying scouring strength until it leaves thelast thoroughly cleaned and rinsed. The mechanical handling in each vatis identical. Therefore only one set of mechanisms is shown anddescribed. 7

The vat A consists of a long narrow trough having the perforated falsebottom A, which permits the precipitation of dirt from the solution. Thefiber is lifted from the vat by a series of weighted fork-teeth B,suspended perpendicularly from the sleeve 13, which is free on the shaftB extending between the ends of radial arms'B The shaftB, upon which theradial arms are fixed, is rotated by the large pulley B belted to themain drive-shaft X. The forks B, passing through the solution, carry aquantity of fiber up the incline C, from which it is delivered to thetraveling draper D. From the draper the fiber passes between thesqueezing-rolls E E, which wring out the moisture, thence to therapidly-revolvingdistributing-wheelF,which throws it onto the submergerG, which carries it into the scouring solution of the succeeding tank,in which it is puddled by the agitation caused by the passage of theforks B through the solution until it is picked up andpassed into thenext vat by the same process just described. The cheek-boards D providedat the sides of the draper and the splashboard Diabove preventscattering of the fiber outside the vat.. The splash-board D ispositioned a predetermined distance above the draper, so as to insure aneven feed of the fiber and to prevent clogging of the squeezing-rolls.

For cleanliness and convenience the incline O is independent and readilyremovable from the vat. The draper consists of a belt D, traveling overthe rollers D and D the latter beingdriven by a pinion meshed with gearE on the squeezing-roll E, which receives its impulse from the gear H onthe secondary driving-shaft H, belted to the main driving-.

shaft X. The distributing-wheel F is driven by a reversed belt F,operating between the pulleys H and F The distributing-wheel consists ofa plurality of vanes radiating from a center shaft adapted to revolve athigh speed. The submerging-wheel G consists of a square drum having thetangential fingers G, upon which the fiber from the distributingwheel Fsettles as the submerging-wheel revolves. The submerging-wheel isactuated by the belt G operating between the pulleys G and H thescouring solution the fiber thereon floats off into the solu tion,to bepicked up and passed onto the puddling and squeezing mechanismsoperating therein. Where it is desired to only puddle-wash the fiber, itmay be dis- As the fingers G pass-through charged directly from theincline into the succeeding vat, the intermediate mechanisms not beingessential to the proper working of the puddler and (lischarger.

It is obvious that the various mechanisms above described may be alteredin many respects without interfering with the spirit of the invention.As shown and described, the simplest forms are disclosed.

Having thus described this invention, what is c1aimed,and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a wool or fiber scouring machine, a vat having a perforated falsebottom; a removable incline plane extending longitudinally from saidfalse bottom to the top of the vat; a paddling and elevating meansconsisting of loosely-mounted and a series of weighted fork-teeth,adapted to travel through the vat up the said incline plane anddischarge the fiber accumulated in front of the said teeth onto atraveling draper discharging between a set of squeezing-rolls; adistributing-roll adapted to receive the fiber from the squeezing-rolls,and a submerging-drum: substantially as described.

2. In a wool orfiber scouring machine, a vat having a removable inclineplane from the bottom to the top thereof; a puddling and elevating meansconsisting of a series of looselymounted and Weighted fork-teethsuspended between radial arms fixed upon a shaft and adapted to advancethrough the vat and up the said incline plane; aconveyer and a wringingmechanism interposed in the path of the fiber between the said inclineplane and the succeeding vat: substantially as described.

3. Inawool orfiber scouring machine, avat having an inclined plane fromthe bottom to the top thereof; a paddling and elevating mechanismconsisting of a series of looselymounted and weighted fork-teethsuspended between radial arms upon a rotatable shaft and adapted toadvance through the vat and up the inclined plane and up the saidinclined plane: substantially as described.

4. Inawoolorfiberscouring machine,avat; and a puddling and dischargingmechanism consisting of a series of loosely-mounted and weightedfork-teeth suspended between radial arms fixed upon a rotatable shaftand adapted to advance through the vat: substantially as described.

5. In a wool-fiber-scouring machine, a vat having a perforated bottom, aconveyer above said bottom,a removable inclined plane adapted to rest onsaid bottom and to overlap said conveyer, means for elevating the fiberover theinclined plane, adistributingroll adapted to receive the fiberfrom the squeezing-rolls, and means for submerging the fiber in a secondvat.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of April,1902.

FRANCIS L. WHITNEY.

Witnesses:

GEORGE F. HATTON, BALDWIN VALE.

